How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP5951296 / W10721967 Drive Clutch Kit

This was my first attempt, ever, to repair a washing machine. After some internet research on the problems, I was able to determine that the shaft seal on the gearcase probably was leaking water into the gearcase with each use. No water was ever found on the floor, but when I turned the washer over to inspect the gearcase, I found a black, oily residue on the outside of it along with the same residue on the pulleys, the belt and the motor. I ordered a new gearcase, shift actuator, splutch kit and belt on-line with a total cost of right at $250 (much less expensive than local appliance repair facilities and certainly less than a replacement washer). My main concern was with the removal of the tub seal. Fortunately, on this model, no special tools are required. Once the original gear case was removed, I was able to push the seal out with thumb pressure. The new gear case came with the seal already on the shaft. The seal seats properly when the gear case mounting screws are installed. Because the gearcase is somewhat heavy and is awkward to pull once the four mounting bolts are removed, I recommend removing the motor and all pieces attached to the gear case before removing it from the washer. All of the parts can be reinstalled once the gear case is in place and secured to the washer. Of course, clean the oily residue off of everything before reassembling. Also, the Sears replacement parts website has the best video for replacing the gearcase on this particular washer. After a couple of weeks, and approximately 15 washer uses, everything is working perfectly. One other suggestion: The tub in which clothes sit when they are washed should be inspected after it is removed. I found over half of the holes around the outside wall to be clogged. Take the time to clean the residue with a stiff brush and some dishwashing detergent. The new parts and those unclogged holes will make the washer do what it is supposed to do: get your clothes clean efficiently. 

Symptoms: Machine was spinning and spitting a dark colored oil in a circular pattern on the floor under the machine. No strange noises, just messy. Researched issue, Gear-case bad, seal deteriorated and not preventing water from entering gear-case. The additional cam, belt etc I had replaced due to the amount of oil and transmission residue attached to them. Ordered parts, EVERYTHING parts-wise that is needed is included in gear-case package. **NOTE: You WILL need to get a whirlpool spanner wrench kit to complete this job.It's a cheap kit $9-14 or so. additionally You will need several different metric socket sizes (10, 13 etc) and both flat and Phillips-head screwdrivers. I had to use a Dremmel tool and cutter to remove the washer drive hub kit nut and plate from the gear-case spindle. Spray air worked very well in removing dust and debris from the connections of under-side components....have plenty of patience. The fix: Firstly, researched online tutorials from this website and others (YouTube) on specifics (There are plenty!). Unplugged machine. Removed washer top cover, washer spin cap, washer screw and wash-plate. Secondly removed washer drive hub kit (2 x nuts + plate) which was an endeavor all on it's own as all of the parts were severely corroded and oxidized. My second friction point was that the inner wash spin basket was froze to the Gear-case spindle and would not budge as there was much wash residue and oxidation on the gear-case spindle. An overpriced tool can be bought to remove the basket if yours does not pull out freely. I personally used a simple car jack (small bottle jack would work fine as well) and a 20' wooden 2x4 (several home-made online tutorials available). After inner spin basket was removed, I had taped the lid and washer top down and laid the machine on it's back. Next, removed all components from the underside of the gear-case, taking note of where everything was attached; Removed gear-case; Removed stuck old washer tub seal; cleaned orifice and replaced gear-case. Re-attached all previous items. Placed washer back together. All worked perfectly. Good luck! 

This is my experience with belt-driven Cabrio machine, problem started about 3 years after purchase. IMHO, this drive train is a poor cost-cutting design (for an expensive washer): The (plastic? nylon?) motor pulley is held in place by six plastic teeth which are supposed to grip a groove in the motor shaft. With heat and vibration, they loosen, allowing the pulley to work its way down the shaft. This causes the drive belt to run BELOW the bottom edge of the large cam pulley. The belt drags on the plastic drive guard and eventually shreds itself. At the same time, the additional torque load and vibration cause the retaining nut to work loose, and the cam pulley itself migrates downward. As less of its splined core is engaged by the basket drive shaft, and the pulley wobbles. All of this combined leads to eventual failure I bought a new belt -- while installing it, I noticed that the motor pulley was out of position. I used a deep-well socket, large enough to fit comfortably over the motor shaft, to drive the pulley back up towards the motor. Added hot glue and heat shrink tube to anchor it, The tubing is available at Digikey, EPS3012K, 1/2 inch, adhesive-lined, fluid/heat/water resistant. A short piece fit snugly over the 'teeth' and treatment with heat gun clamped the teeth in place. The washer has been used since, four loads a week for five months, and the motor pulley is still where it belongs. I got a complaint that the washer was making noises again. Inspection showed that the retaining nut was working loose, and the cam pulley had some wobble, the belt was intermittently striking the guard again. I found a brass ferrule in my junk parts collection and cut it to fit (after some encouragement) in the gap between the splines and the threaded part of the basket drive shaft. Like this: nut --> cam|pulley --> basket drive shaft threaded part of shaft | splined part of shaft ferrule here| pulley engages splines here This solved the problem. It may be that Whirlpool used a budget cam pulley on this model, but the design should have anticipated these issues. A few inexpensive modifications could have made this drive train much more reliable. I have spent about eight hours with this DIY project, mainly because I hate to throw away something that's fixable. We will continue to use the washer, reserving the purchased CAM kit until some future time when my repairs fail. Fingers crossed. 

There was a horrible screeching noise coming from the washer, and upon inspection I found that the retaining nut that attaches the cam to the machine was either improperly tightened to begin with or had worked itself loose causing the cam to wobble and the belt to work down the cam. The cam gear teeth became worn and the belt worked itself half off the cam and cut a hole in the protective plastic screen containing the whole ensemble. I purchased the belt, shield and cam kit. The parts are remarkably well designed compared to the original parts. The whole process took about 7 minutes. Works like new, if not better. Ensure the belt is properly aligned, and nut is tight. The cam should have little to no wobble when complete. Thanks AppliancepartsPROS.com! 

After turning the washer over & removing the "sound insulation" I discovered that the nut had backed off just enough to allow the pulley & cam to drop out of position. The belt had slipped off the pulley enough to actually cut the belt guard. Removed the belt, nut, pulley and cam assembly. While the teeth looked better than I thought they would, replaced entire assembly with the replacement cam assembly. I noticed that blue Locktite was on the replacement nut...it was NOT on the original nut. The entire repair took ~20 minutes. Simple repair that returned the washer to its original condition. The replacement cam from AppliancePartsPros.com was ~$40 less than where I usually order from. 

Belt was worn cam had too much belt residue on it and shift actuator would shift when tested empty but not loaded so replace all three pieces at once worked great 

After hearing the exact noise on your site's audio files, I was able to diagnose that it was the "splutch" assembly. I also replaced the belt due to some wear. 

I looked through the AppliancePartsPros.com website and located my machine with the model number and tried to find a reason it was so loud. I saw the two most likely reasons were a belt or something called a splutch cam kit. Sounded reasonable and I watched the video on how to replace them. It seemed pretty easy. I ordered the parts - been a customer before so knew how to do that. The parts arrived in a timely manner. I am 5'3" 58 yr old grandma. The machine is about as big as I am. I unplugged it and turned the water off. Moved the machine out easily and tilted it easily. I had my Ipad on to watch the video as I went. Very easy to understand as to what to do and how to get parts off and then back together. The dog came and checked it out while I did it. The parts went on easily and made sure all the screws and nuts were tight. The belt was a little hard to do as the old one was very stretched but it finally went on- just like a bike chain the repairman said in the video. When I was done, I slid it back and plugged it in and turned the water on again. I did a test run load and SO QUIET. It was a pleasure to wash the laundry, sheets and blankets. Really appreciate the quality of the website and the videos that let you know exactly what you need to do. Always a pleasure :-) Thanks! 

My 36 month old Maytag washer, MVWC300VW1, had a sensing light and a blinking lid lock light. I followed the advice from many on the net and serviced the lid lock switch. I finally found the wiring diagram inside the front panel and was able to determine the switch would not cause the symptoms I had. During my searches someone mentioned the belt had fell off the drive pulley. I found the pulley shaft nut had become loose causing the pulley to wobble and the belt had fallen off. I ordered the Cam Kit, AP4514713, which only took about 15 minutes to install. I tilted the washer back against the wall to get to the bottom service area. Washer started up and ran perfectly. Hopefully I can get another 3 years out of this washer; it is a poorly designed washer. I didn't know about all this sensing and lid lock functions when I purchased the unit. Plus it washes slower than an old maid with a scrub board. Appliance Parts Pros did an excellent job with my order, correct parts shipped very quickly and no billing problems. I have used them before and highly recommend their services. 

I order the cam kit for it. And that fixed it. Working like new. It was a year and a half old when this started.